Letter to the Editor: Response deserved
BY Gary Holland, Stillwater
Saturday, April 14, 2012
4/14/12 at 3:26 AM
The Tulsa World report on Rep. Mark McCullough's position against Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the federal funding available to help low-income Oklahomans, deserves a response that all elected Republicans should know.
Rather than help explain the features of "Obamacare" to Oklahomans, the assumption is that most Oklahomans simply don't like it. Quite frankly, the reprehensible attacks on PPACA by Republicans have resulted in many Oklahomans simply not understanding the benefits and assuming it must be bad legislation, because "conservatives" don't agree with it. Ironically, the centerpiece of PPACA - the individual mandate, was actually championed by many in the Republican Party and even by scholars at the "conservative" Heritage Foundation before President Barack Obama advocated it.
Finally, please keep in mind that there are conservatives in this state, myself included, who are enthusiastic in supporting "Obamacare." The alternatives are (1) for those currently paying for health insurance to be forced to continue paying high premium rates and high medical bills to cover for those without health insurance or ability to pay, or (2) work to repeal the 1986 federal law requiring health-care providers to accept anyone regardless of ability to pay.
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